Saturday, July 29 - Schedule of Events
- 8:45 AM - Pre-Ride Albany Architecture Tour (see below)
- 9:00 AM - 4:30 PM - Information Table Open
- 11:00 AM - Pre-Ride Troy Farmer's Market Tour (see below)
- 1:30 - 4:30 PM - Registration
- 1:30 - 2:30 PM Meet the Artists - Art Classes on the Tour - Cynthia and Judith
- Sign-Up for the week OR: Each Day you can drop-in to class during the week
- 2:30 PM - Tech Workshop 1 - “How to post on Facebook” with Peter Ling
- 3:00 PM - Tech Workshop 2 - "How to download Ride with GPS Routes" with Peter Ling
- 3:00 PM - Bike Workshop - “Pre-Ride Bike Inspection” & “How to use our Tire Pumps” with Joe Zierer
- 3:30 - 4:30 PM - Special Presentation - "Spanning the Divide - an Evolutionary Tale of the Capital District's Hudson River Bridges."
- 4:00 - 5:00 PM - Appetizers - Wine & Beer Available
- 4:30 - 6:30 PM - Music
- 5:00 - 7:00 PM - Dinner
- 7:00 - 7:30 PM - Opening Remarks
Pre-Ride Tours
- 8:45 AM - guided tour (fee) - ALBANY ARCHITECTURE requires separate ticket
Join Historic Albany Foundation President & fellow cycling enthusiast Matt Malette for this hour-long guided tour. Albany's streets have plenty of stories to tell, so why not join us for this fun foray into local history from the seat of your bicycle? Tickets available for purchase here.
NOTE: This tour starts from downtown Albany, not from the first overnight location at Hudson Valley Community College. Be sure to note the start location when you purchase a ticket. Given the early start, it might make sense to enjoy this tour, and then drive to HVCC.
- 11:00 AM - guided tour - 10 mile loop, crossing the Hudson River twice before arriving at the Troy Farmers Market. Time will be allowed for lunch on own, before continuing through historic streets of downtown Troy that were part of HBO's Gilded Age. An optional city bus route (fee) avoids the last climb back up to camp. (only 2 bikes per bus, first come, first served).
- On Own - out & back - after crossing the Hudson River this route is all on bike trails. Choose 14 miles RT to explore the USS Slater (10am - 4pm), 23 miles RT for ice cream at Stewart's, or go all the way to then end for 35 miles RT for a beer & a bite at Northern Barrell (12:00 - 9:pm) All fees on own.
Special Activities by Day
DAY 1 - SUNDAY (TROY - HUDSON)
Olana State Historic Site
Beginning at 1:00 pm, our shuttles will go to Olana -tickets for tours of this unique architectural amazement will be available about a month prior on Olana's website
Dinner in Hudson or Catskill
Riders will have dinner on their own tonight in Hudson & Catskill. Shuttles run until 9:00 pm.
DAY 2 - MONDAY (HUDSON - KINGSTON)
Clermont State Historic Site
Clermont State Historic Site is our beautiful morning rest stop- Originally a Georgian Mansion, the grounds & gardens will be open and free to walk.
Optional 50-mile route
Riders will have the option to take a 50-mile route this day, passing attractions including the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome Museum and running through historic downtown Rhinebeck.
Kingston Rocks the Trail
The Kingston Rocks the Trail event, at 6:00 pm at the Hutton Brickyards, will feature a free community concert featuring The Whiskey Treaty Roadshow for residents and riders.
DAY 3 - TUESDAY (KINGSTON)
Layover day in Kingston.
Trail and Road Ride Options
We will have different ride options available for riders to explore more of the Hudson Valley, including trips up to the Ashokan Reservoir, along the historic O&W Rail Trail, and a shorter ride to visit historic downtown Kingston.
Self-guided walking tours will also be available to explore Kingston's historic past, including the Senate House State Historic Site.
Dinner in Kingston
Riders will have dinner on their own tonight, with shuttles to the historic Kingston riverfront or uptown sections of Kingston.
DAY 4 - WEDNESDAY (KINGSTON - POUGHKEEPSIE)
Day four is the "day of bridges", as riders will cross the iconic Rosendale Trestle (the highest bridge in the world when completed), the Springtown Bridge (featured in the movie "A Quiet Place"), and finally the stunning Walkway Over The Hudson State Historic Park, featuring breathtaking 360 degree views of the Hudson River and Poughkeepsie.
Bradley Farm RB Brew
Bradley Farm RB Brew - morning rest stop - will have farm raised hard boiled eggs with fresh chives. Cyclists can sample (fee) "brewed on site" beer, wine & kombucha.
OPTIONAL 48-MILE ROUTE
We will have an optional 48-mile route continuing south from New Paltz along the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail, which offers riders gorgeous views of the nearby Shawangunk Mountain Range.
SKYDIVE THE RANCH
For a completely different experience on the tour, consider skydiving! Skydive the Ranch offers tandem jumps, and is just off the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail, part of the optional 48-mile route. Tandem jumps start at $239, with an optional video of your jump for an additional $99. Your friends won’t believe you jumped unless you have proof. The jump could add 2-3 hours to your day, but oh the stories you can tell.
POUGHKEEPSIE OVERNIGHT AND SHUTTLES
We will spent the night in Poughkeepsie, with shuttles to area attractions beginning at 1:00pm.
- If you love food and want to learn about the mystique of the world-famous Culinary Institute of America (CIA), you’ll love this!
- THE CIA EXPERIENCE—TASTE, LEARN, TOUR: 2:30 pm fee, tour lasts approx 1 hr. Go behind the scenes of the CIA and get an inside look into our world of food. Participate in an interactive demonstration where you’ll explore the science of taste. Tour Roth Hall, the building where culinary magic happens, and be transported to exceptional moments in food history. Connect with CIA students in an exclusive Q&A session. Plan on taking either the 1 or 1:30 shuttle for this tour. $15 per person. Reservations are recommended, please call 845-451-1588 or sign up online. https://www.ciafoodies.com/new-york-campus-visitor-tours-and-events/
- Other shuttle stops will include the FDR museum at "the main house", and Val-kill, two miles away. After Eleanor Roosevelt turned the main house at Hyde Park over to the United States to be turned into a museum, she kept Val-Kill, purchasing the land from the Roosevelt estate and making Val-Kill Cottage her permanent home. (Both are fee tickets).
DAY 5 - THURSDAY (POUGHKEEPSIE - CARMEL)
HOPEWELL JUNCTION
In Hopewell Junction, the William R. Steinhaus Dutchess County Rail Trail meets the Maybrook Trailway - and the Hopewell Depot Museum tells the story of this once-critical junction for rail service in the northeastern United States - now a critical trail junction!
APPALACHIAN TRAIL
As part of today's route, riders will cross that other well-known long distance trail - the Appalachian Trail!
DINNER IN COLD SPRING
Riders will have dinner on their own tonight, with shuttles running to Cold Spring.
DAY 6 - FRIDAY (CARMEL - DOBBS FERRY)
RIVERSIDE COMMUNITIES
Take the chance to explore the historic riverside communities of Sleepy Hollow and Tarrytown as part of today's ride - these villages are also ideal mid-day stops to stop and grab lunch.
CLOSING DINNER AND FESTIVITIES
We've almost made it! At the Dobbs Ferry overnight, we will have our closing dinner and other festivities.
DAY 7 - SATURDAY (DOBBS FERRY - NEW YORK CITY)
The 9/11 Memorial & Museum is a block away from the Hudson River Greenway/Empire State Trail in lower Manhattan. The Memorial is free and open to the public; if you wish you may reserve Outdoor Memorial Audio Guides ahead of time or wait and purchase during your visit. You may walk your bike through the Memorial - no riding. The Museum (separate from the Memorial) requires advance ticket purchase. There are bike racks near the Museum; bring your own lock.
FINISH LINE
On Saturday, August 5, we will finish our adventure at Brooklyn Bridge Park. Look across New York Harbor at the Statue of Liberty and the New York City skyline and think about all that you have seen, explored and accomplished this week. Talk about a photo op!
The rider shuttle will take riders who have purchased shuttle tickets and their bikes back to Troy. Bicycles will be loaded from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the Pier 2 Parking Lot in Brooklyn Bridge Park. Shuttles will drop riders at Long Term Parking at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy. Luggage will be brought to Troy directly from the Dobbs Ferry campsite.
Classes
ACCORDION ART OR JOURNALING BOOK
Create an accordion book to capture visual images or thoughts for the week. Materials provided. Sign-Up & Meet the Artist at Registration.
Judith Rubenstein- www.juderubenstein.com “Cycling has been a part of my life, but I came to studying art late in life, as my decades of work as a community social worker clarified for me what I wanted to depict. I became a community artist, following decades of artists who came before me: the WPA artists of the US Depression Era, the Mexican Taller de Gráfica muralists and printers, and more. We make art whose message is accessible to the public. Our art also makes the point that art itself should be unrestricted, not only in museums, but on the street.”
SCHEDULE: Join Judith Sunday & Monday 3-4 PM to start your book, work on your own for the week. Exhibit on Friday (Optional), our final night. Note: Judith is available all week for questions or inspiration!
ART CLASSES
En Plein Air Drawing and Biking Along the Hudson Valley Five-day Workshop. Sign-Up & Meet the Artist at Registration.
Cynthia LeRoy- New York and Canada based artist Cynthia LeRoy has explored a variety of media since her early days at the Art Students League in NYC. After completing her formal studies in painting and drawing in Toronto, she enjoyed a decades-long teaching career in which she guided others to develop traditional and experimental methods and techniques. In her ongoing studio practice, LeRoy explores landscape, figures, still life, and abstraction inspired by forms found in natural and imagined worlds.
SCHEDULE: Classes with Cynthia are 3:45-5:15 PM Sunday to Thursday-at our overnight sites. First Day is a Field Trip to Olana! (Weather permitting), Sunday, July 30 drawing at Olana-adjacent to our overnight site. Exhibit on Friday (Optional), our final night. Link to a PDF with outline of the week.
BIKE MAINTENANCE CLASSES
Each afternoon Joe will offer a variety of bike maintenance classes, including pre-ride inspection, inner tube replacement, chain lubrication, seat position set-up, and gear shifting tips & guidelines.
Joe Zierer- A native Texan, Joe accepted an engineering position at the GE Research Center and moved to the NY’s Capitol Region in 2013. A decade later he stepped away from full time employment to pursue other outside interests, including cycling, skiing, camping, and travel, but continues to work part time in a consulting role at GE. While his kids were still in high school, Joe began coaching a MS/HS mountain bike team that competes in the NY League of the National Interscholastic Cycle Association (NICA), a passion that continues today. During the summers, Joe works as a mountain bike camp counselor with the NY NICA leadership in northern Vermont.
SCHEDULE: Saturday’s Class is Pre-Ride Inspection at 3:00 PM. See schedule at registration for more times & topics throughout the week.
ROADSIDE REPAIR
Join Ed Ravin for a class going over the basics of roadside repairs to your bicycle, including patching and/or changing a flat tire and reseating the tire on your bike.
SCHEDULE: Thursday, August 3 (Time TBD)
Ed Ravin- Ed Ravin is a long-time bike club and bike event volunteer as well as a transportation activist / livable-streets advocate.
TECH CLASSES
Learn how to "post" on Facebook, download a GPS Route to your device, how to live stream your bike ride, and more!
Peter Ling- Peter has been “doing tech for over 35 years.” After earning a Computer Science degree from Binghamton University, Peter now lives in New York. He loves to travel everywhere on anything with wheels! He has been riding bikes since he was a kid, enjoying mountain biking, trail riding, and just added recumbent biking, fat tire snow biking, and gravel grinders to the list. Additionally, he has been a national autocross racer/coach and an indoor/outdoor volleyball player/coach. Peter is married for 25 years with a daughter at college and a son with special needs who is in high school.
SCHEDULE: Saturday’s Class is “How to Post on Facebook” at 2:30 PM. See schedule at registration for more times & topics during the week.
YOGA
Join Supriya each afternoon for a rejuvenating yoga/strech session.
Supriya Hermenze- Supriya as been a certified yoga instructor, graduate of the NY Integral Yoga Institute since 1989. For over 30 years, Supriya has taught at yoga studios, senior centers, health clubs, and privately upon request. In 2022 she rode the “Cycle The Erie Canal” with Parks & Trails New York and had the vision of cyclists enjoying stretching their bodies daily with yoga. Supriya is a birth doula at Danbury Hospital in CT, a massage therapist, painter and ESL teacher. She lives with her husband, doggie and cat in Danbury Connecticut.
SCHEDULE: Each afternoon, Sunday to Thursday from 4-5 PM (Friday will be 3-4 PM).
